In conventional multi-cell systems, users at the cell edge suffer from high inter-cell interference and are not able to achieve high throughputs because of their low signal-to-interference plus noise ratio. FIG. 1 shows a wireless neighborhood 100 having multiple cellular regions or cells 40, each cellular region being serviced by a base station 30. Base stations 30A-30G occupy the wireless neighborhood 100 (collectively, base stations 30). A mobile device or other user equipment (UE) 20 moving through the wireless neighborhood 100 is occasionally located at the edge of a cellular region 40. Although the UE 20 is serviced by the base station 30A, when at the edge of the center cellular region 40, the UE 20 may experience interference from base stations located in several of the surrounding cellular regions, namely, from base stations 30B, 30C, 30D, and 30E.
User equipment located at the edge of the cell 40 thus may experience high inter-cell interference, which, in turn, causes low throughputs because of a low signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR).
Thus, there is a continuing need for a method to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art.